Tatsuru Saito made a winning return to competition at the 56th All Japan Business Judo Individual Championships, held on 5 September at Daishin Arena in Sakai, Osaka. Competing in the men's 100kg+ class, he took all six bouts by ippon — including two wins by shido-3 hansoku-make — to claim the title.
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The tournament also served as a qualifier for the Kodokan Cup in November. It was Saito's first competition since winning the Kodokan Cup last November — a gap of about ten months.
According to eJudo and Nikkan Sports, Saito underwent lower-back surgery in February, then injured his right ankle after returning to training in July. His coach at JES Elevator, Tomokazu Inoue, said Saito's condition was far from ideal, and that he had even considered not competing at all.
Despite that, Saito won the final against Yuki Isshiki with a left o-uchi-gari ippon, mixing stand-up and groundwork throughout the day. "Standing on the tatami is not something to take for granted. I am grateful," he said. "I came back after overcoming a difficult time. My condition is still not there yet, so I want to clear one challenge at a time."
His next planned competition is the Kodokan Cup in November, with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as the long-term target. "Over these two years, I will definitely grow," he said. "If I keep piling up what I can do now, the road to LA will connect."